1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wireless communication systems and, more particularly, to a multiple antenna communication system.
2. Description of Related Art
The ultimate bit rate at which a digital wireless communication system may communicate data may be derived using Shannon's approach to information theory (commonly referred to as the Shannon limit). The ultimate bit rate is based on a number of different parameters, including: the total radiated power at the transmitter; the number of antennas at the transmitter and receiver; bandwidth; noise power at the receiver; and the characteristics of the propagation environment. For wireless transmission using multiple antennas at the transmitter and/or receiver in a so-called Rayleigh fading environment, the ultimate bit rate could be enormous, for example, hundreds of bits per second per Hz for a system employing 30 antennas at both the transmitter and receiver and experiencing an average signal-to-noise ratio of 16 dB.
A need exists for a wireless communications system which achieves high bit rates in a cost effective and relatively simple manner.